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.TH AMPCTLD "1" "2019-12-10" "Hamlib" "Hamlib Utilities"
.
.
.SH NAME
.
ampctld \- TCP amplifier control daemon
.
.
.SH SYNOPSIS
.
.SY ampctld
.OP \-hlLuV
.OP \-m id
.OP \-r device
.OP \-s baud
.OP \-T IPADDR
.OP \-t number
.OP \-C parm=val
.RB [ \-v [ \-Z ]]
.YS
.
.
.SH DESCRIPTION
.
The
.B ampctld
program is an amplifier control daemon that handles client requests via TCP
sockets.  This allows multiple user programs to share one amplifier (this
needs more development).  Multiple amplifiers can be controlled on different
TCP ports by use of multiple
.B ampctld
processes.  Note that multiple processes/ports are also necessary if some
clients use extended responses and/or vfo mode.  So up to 4 processes/ports
may be needed for each combination of extended response/vfo mode.  The syntax
of the commands are the same as
.BR ampctl (1).
It is hoped that
.B ampctld
will be especially useful for client authors using languages such as Perl,
Python, PHP, and others.
.
.PP
.B ampctld
communicates to a client through a TCP socket using text commands shared with
.BR ampctl .
The protocol is simple, commands are sent to
.B ampctld
on one line and
.B ampctld
responds to
.B get
commands with the requested values, one per line, when successful, otherwise,
it responds with one line \(lqRPRT x\(rq, where \(oqx\(cq is a negative number
indicating the error code.  Commands that do not return values respond with
the line \(lqRPRT x\(rq, where \(oqx\(cq is \(oq0\(cq when successful,
otherwise is a regative number indicating the error code.  Each line is
terminated with a newline \(oq\\n\(cq character.  This protocol is primarily
for use by the
.B NET ampctl
(amplifier model 2) backend.
.
.PP
A separate
.B Extended Response Protocol
extends the above behavior by echoing the received command string as a header,
any returned values as a key: value pair, and the \(lqRPRT x\(rq string as the
end of response marker which includes the
.B Hamlib
success or failure value.  See the
.B PROTOCOL
section for details.  Consider using this protocol for clients that will
interact with
.B ampctld
directly through a TCP socket.
.
.PP
Keep in mind that Hamlib is BETA level software.  While a lot of backend
libraries lack complete amplifier support, the basic functions are usually
well supported.
.
.PP
Please report bugs and provide feedback at the e-mail address given in the
.B BUGS
section below.  Patches and code enhancements sent to the same address are
welcome.
.
.
.SH OPTIONS
.
This program follows the usual GNU command line syntax.  Short options that
take an argument may have the value follow immediately or be separated by a
space.  Long options starting with two dashes (\(oq\-\(cq) require an
\(oq=\(cq between the option and any argument.
.
.PP
Here is a summary of the supported options:
.
.TP
.BR \-m ", " \-\-model = \fIid\fP
Select amplifier model number.
.IP
See model list (use \(lqampctl -l\(rq).
.IP
.BR Note :
.B ampctl
(or third party software using the C API) will use amplifier model 2 for
.B NET ampctl
(communicating with
.BR ampctld ).
.
.TP
.BR \-r ", " \-\-amp\-file = \fIdevice\fP
Use
.I device
as the file name of the port connected to the amplifier.
.IP
Often a serial port, but could be a USB to serial adapter.  Typically
.IR /dev/ttyS0 ", " /dev/ttyS1 ", " /dev/ttyUSB0 ,
etc. on Linux,
.IR COM1 ", " COM2 ,
etc. on MS Windows.  The BSD flavors and Mac OS/X have their own designations.
See your system's documentation.
.
.TP
.BR \-s ", " \-\-serial\-speed = \fIbaud\fP
Set serial speed to
.I baud
rate.
.IP
Uses maximum serial speed from amplifier backend capabilities (set by
.B -m
above) as the default.
.
.TP
.BR \-t ", " \-\-port = \fInumber\fP
Use
.I number
as the TCP listening port.
.IP
The default is 4531.
.IP
.BR Note :
As
.BR rigctld 's
default port is 4532 and
.BR rotctld 's
default port is 4533, it is recommended to use DESCENDING odd numbered ports
for multiple
.BR ampctld
instances, e.g. 4529, 4527, 4525, etc.
.
.TP
.BR \-T ", " \-\-listen\-addr = \fIIPADDR\fP
Use
.I IPADDR
as the listening IP address.
.IP
The default is ANY.
.
.TP
.BR \-L ", " \-\-show\-conf
List all config parameters for the amplifier defined with
.B \-m
above.
.
.TP
.BR \-C ", " \-\-set\-conf = \fIparm=val\fP [ \fI,parm=val\fP ]
Set amplifier configuration parameter(s), e.g.
.IR stop_bits=2 .
.IP
Use the
.B -L
option above for a list of configuration parameters for a given model number.
.
.TP
.BR \-u ", " \-\-dump\-caps
Dump capabilities for the amplifier defined with
.B -m
above and exit.
.
.TP
.BR \-l ", " \-\-list
List all amplifier model numbers defined in
.B Hamlib
and exit.
.IP
The list is sorted by model number.
.IP
.BR Note :
In Linux the list can be scrolled back using
.BR Shift-PageUp / Shift-PageDown ,
or using the scrollbars of a virtual terminal in X or the cmd window in
Windows.  The output can be piped to
.BR more (1)
or
.BR less (1),
e.g. \(lqampctl -l | more\(rq.
.
.TP
.BR \-v ", " \-\-verbose
Set verbose mode, cumulative (see
.B DIAGNOSTICS
below).
.
.TP
.BR \-Z ", " \-\-debug\-time\-stamps
Enable time stamps for the debug messages.
.IP
Use only in combination with the
.B -v
option as it generates no output on its own.
.
.TP
.BR \-h ", " \-\-help
Show a summary of these options and exit.
.
.TP
.BR \-V ", " \-\-version
Show version of
.B ampctl
and exit.
.
.PP
.BR Note :
Some options may not be implemented by a given backend and will return an
error.  This is most likely to occur with the
.B \-\-set\-conf
and
.B \-\-show\-conf
options.
.
.PP
Please note that the backend for the amplifier to be controlled, or the
amplifier itself may not support some commands.  In that case, the operation
will fail with a
.B Hamlib
error code.
.
.
.SH COMMANDS
.
Commands can be sent over the TCP socket either as a single char, or as a long
command name plus the value(s) space separated on one \(oq\\n\(cq terminated
line. See
.BR PROTOCOL .
.
.PP
Since most of the
.B Hamlib
operations have a
.B set
and a
.B get
method, an upper case letter will be used for
.B set
methods whereas the corresponding lower case letter refers to the
.B get
method.  Each operation also has a long name; prepend a backslash, \(oq\\\(cq,
to send a long command name.
.
.PP
Example (Perl): \(lqprint $socket "\\\\dump_caps\\n";\(rq to see what the
amplifier's backend can do
.RB ( Note :
In Perl and many other languages a \(oq\\\(cq will need to be escaped with a
preceding \(oq\\\(cq so that even though two backslash characters appear in
the code, only one will be passed to
.BR ampctld .
This is a possible bug, beware!).
.
.PP
.BR Note :
The backend for the amplifier to be controlled, or the amplifier itself may
not support some commands. In that case, the operation will fail with a
.B Hamlib
error message.
.
.PP
Here is a summary of the supported commands (In the case of
.B set
commands the quoted italicized string is replaced by the value in the
description.  In the case of
.B get
commands the quoted italicized string is the key name of the value returned.):
.
.TP
.BR F ", " set_freq " \(aq" \fIFrequency\fP \(aq
Set
.RI \(aq Frequency \(aq,
in Hz.
.IP
Frequency may be a floating point or integer value.
.
.TP
.BR f ", " get_freq
Get
.RI \(aq Frequency \(aq,
in Hz.
.IP
Returns an integer value.
.
.TP
.BR l ", " get_level " \(aq" \fILevel\fP \(aq
Get
.RI \(aq "Level Value" \(aq.
.IP
Returns Level Value as a float or integer for the Level token given.
.IP
.BR Note :
Passing a \(oq?\(cq (query) as the first argument instead of a Level token
will return a space separated list of amplifier backend supported get level
tokens.  Use this to determine the supported levels of a given amplifier
backend.
.
.TP
.B dump_state
Return certain state information about the amplifier backend.
.
.TP
.BR 1 ", " dump_caps
Not a real amplifier remote command, it just dumps capabilities, i.e. what the
backend knows about this model, and what it can do.
.IP
TODO: Ensure this is in a consistent format so it can be read into a hash,
dictionary, etc.  Bug reports requested.
.IP
.BR Note :
This command will produce many lines of output so be very careful if using a
fixed length array!  For example, running this command against the Dummy
backend results in a number of lines of text output.
.
.TP
.BR _ ", " get_info
Return information from the amplifier backend.
.
.TP
.BR R ", " reset " \(aq" \fIReset\fP \(aq
Perform amplifier
.RI \(aq Reset \(aq.
.IP
Reset is an integer value: \(oq0\(cq = None, \(oq1\(cq = Memory reset,
\(oq2\(cq = Fault reset, \(oq3\(cq = Amplifier reset.
.
.TP
.BR set_powerstat " \(aq" "\fIPower Status\fP" \(aq
Set
.RI \(aq "Power Status" \(aq.
.IP
Power Status is an integer value: \(oq0\(cq = Power Off, \(oq1\(cq = Power On,
\(oq2\(cq = Power Standby (enter standby), \(oq4\(cq = Power Operate (leave
standby).
.
.TP
.B get_powerstat
Get
.RI \(aq "Power Status" \(aq
as in
.B set_powerstat
above.
.
.
.SH PROTOCOL
.
There are two protocols in use by
.BR ampctld ,
the
.B Default Protocol
and the
.BR "Extended Response Protocol" .
.
.PP
The
.B Default Protocol
is intended primarily for the communication between
.B Hamlib
library functions and
.B ampctld
(\(lqNET ampctl\(rq, available using amplifier model \(oq2\(cq).
.
.PP
The
.B Extended Response Protocol
is intended to be used with scripts or other programs interacting directly
with
.B ampctld
as consistent feedback is provided.
.
.
.SS Default Protocol
.
The
.B Default Protocol
is intentionally simple.  Commands are entered on a single line with any
needed values.  In practice, reliable results are obtained by terminating each
command string with a newline character, \(oq\\n\(cq.
.
.PP
Example set frequency and mode commands (Perl code):
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
print $socket "F 14250000\\n";
.br
print $socket "\\\\set_powerstat 1\\n";   # escape leading '\\'
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
A one line response will be sent as a reply to
.B set
commands, \(lqRPRT \fIx\fP\\n\(rq where
.I x
is the Hamlib error code with \(oq0\(cq indicating success of the command.
.
.PP
Responses from
.B ampctld
.B get
commands are text values and match the same tokens used in the
.B set
commands. Each value is returned on its own line.  On error the string \(lqRPRT
\fIx\fP\\n\(rq is returned where
.I x
is the Hamlib error code.
.
.PP
Example get frequency (Perl code):
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
print $socket "f\\n";
.br
"14250000\\n"
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
Most
.B get
functions return one to three values. A notable exception is the
.B dump_caps
command which returns many lines of
\fBkey\fR:\fIvalue\fR
pairs.
.
.PP
This protocol is primarily used by the \(lqNET ampctl\(rq (ampctl model 2)
backend which allows applications already written for Hamlib's C API to take
advantage of
.B ampctld
without the need of rewriting application code.  An application's user can
select amplifier model 2 (\(lqNET ampctl\(rq) and then set
.B amp_pathname
to \(lqlocalhost:4531\(rq or other network
.IR host : port
(set by the
.BR \-T / \-t
options, respectively, above).
.
.
.SS Extended Response Protocol
.
The Extended Response protocol adds several rules to the strings returned by
.B ampctld
and adds a rule for the command syntax.
.
.PP
1. The command received by
.B ampctld
is echoed with its long command name followed by the value(s) (if any)
received from the client terminated by the specified response separator as the
first record of the response.
.
.PP
2. The last record of each block is the string \(lqRPRT \fIx\fP\\n\(rq where
.I x
is the numeric return value of the Hamlib backend function that was called by
the command.
.
.PP
3. Any records consisting of data values returned by the amplifier backend are
prepended by a string immediately followed by a colon then a space and then
the value terminated by the response separator. e.g. \(lqFrequency:
14250000\\n\(rq when the command was prepended by \(oq+\(cq.
.
.PP
4. All commands received will be acknowledged by
.B ampctld
 with records from rules 1 and 2.  Records from rule 3 are only returned when
data values must be returned to the client.
.
.PP
4. All commands received will be acknowledged by
.B ampctld
with records from rules 1 and 2.  Records from rule 3 are only returned when
data values must be returned to the client.
.
.PP
An example response to a
.B set_frequency
command sent from the shell prompt (note the prepended \(oq+\(cq):
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
$ echo "+F 14250000" | nc -w 1 localhost 4531
.br
set_freq: 14250000
.br
RPRT 0
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
In this case the long command name and values are returned on the first line
and the second line contains the end of block marker and the numeric amplifier
backend return value indicating success.
.
.PP
An example response to a
.B get_freq
query:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
$ echo "+\\get_freq" | nc -w 1 localhost 4531
.br
get_freq:
.br
Frequency(Hz): 14250000
.br
RPRT 0
.EE
.RE
.
.IP
.BR Note :
The \(oq\\\(cq is still required for the long command name even with the ERP
character.
.
.PP
In this case, as no value is passed to
.BR ampctld ,
the first line consists only of the long command name.  The final line shows
that the command was processed successfully by the amplifier backend.
.
.PP
Invoking the Extended Response Protocol requires prepending a command with a
punctuation character.  As shown in the examples above, prepending a \(oq+\(cq
character to the command results in the responses being separated by a newline
character (\(oq\\n\(cq).  Any other punctuation character recognized by the C
.BR ispunct ()
function except \(oq\\\(cq, \(oq?\(cq, or \(oq_\(cq will cause that character
to become the response separator and the entire response will be on one line.
.
.PP
Separator character summary:
.TP
.RB \(oq + \(cq
Each record of the response is appended with a newline (\(oq\\n\(cq).
.
.TP
.RB \(oq ; "\(cq, \(oq" | "\(cq, or, \(oq" , \(cq
Each record of the response is appended by the given character resulting in
entire response on one line.
.IP
These are common record separators for text representations of spreadsheet
data, etc.
.
.TP
.RB \(oq ? \(cq
Reserved for help in
.BR ampctl .
.
.TP
.RB \(oq _ \(cq
Reserved for
.B get_info
short command
.
.TP
.RB \(oq # \(cq
Reserved for comments when reading a command file script.
.IP
.BR Note :
Other punctuation characters have not been tested!  Use at your own risk.
.
.PP
For example, invoking a
.B get_freq
query with a leading \(oq;\(cq returns:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
get_freq:;Frequency(Hz): 14250000;RPRT 0
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
Or, using the pipe character \(oq|\(cq returns:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
get_freq:|Frequency(Hz): 14250000|RPRT 0
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
And a
.B set_freq
command prepended with a \(oq|\(cq returns:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
set_freq: 14250000|RPRT 0
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
Such a format will allow reading a response as a single event using a preferred
response separator.  Other punctuation characters have not been tested!
.
.SH DIAGNOSTICS
.
The
.BR \-v ,
.B \-\-verbose
option allows different levels of diagnostics
to be output to
.B stderr
and correspond to \-v for
.BR BUG ,
\-vv for
.BR ERR ,
\-vvv for
.BR WARN ,
\-vvvv for
.BR VERBOSE ,
or \-vvvvv for
.BR TRACE .
.
.PP
A given verbose level is useful for providing needed debugging information to
the email address below.  For example, TRACE output shows all of the values
sent to and received from the amplifier which is very useful for amplifier
backend library development and may be requested by the developers.
.
.
.SH EXAMPLE
.
Start
.B ampctld
for an Elecraft KPA-1500 using a USB-to-serial adapter and backgrounding:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
$ ampctld -m 201 -r /dev/ttyUSB1 &
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
Start
.B ampctld
for an Elecraft KPA-1500 using COM2 on MS Windows:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
$ ampctld -m 201 -r COM2
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
Connect to the already running
.B ampctld
and set the frequency to 14.266 MHz with a 1 second read timeout using the
default protocol from the shell prompt:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
$ echo "\\set_freq 14266000" | nc -w 1 localhost 4531
.EE
.RE
.
.PP
Connect to a running
.B ampctld
with
.B ampctl
on the local host:
.
.sp
.RS 0.5i
.EX
$ ampctl -m2
.EE
.RE
.
.
.SH SECURITY
.
No authentication whatsoever; DO NOT leave this TCP port open wide to the
Internet.  Please ask if stronger security is needed or consider using a
Secure Shell
.RB ( ssh (1))
tunnel.
.
.PP
As
.B ampctld
does not need any greater permissions than
.BR ampctl ,
it is advisable to not start
.B ampctld
as \(lqroot\(rq or another system user account in order to limit any
vulnerability.
.
.
.SH BUGS
.
The daemon is not detaching and backgrounding itself.
.PP
No method to exit the daemon so the
.BR kill (1)
command must be used to terminate it.
.
.PP
Multiple clients using the daemon may experience contention with the connected
amplifier.
.
.PP
Report bugs to:
.IP
.nf
.MT hamlib\-developer@lists.sourceforge.net
Hamlib Developer mailing list
.ME
.fi
.
.
.SH COPYING
.
This file is part of Hamlib, a project to develop a library that simplifies
radio, rotator, and amplifier control functions for developers of software
primarily of interest to radio amateurs and those interested in radio
communications.
.
.PP
Copyright \(co 2000-2010 Stephane Fillod
.br
Copyright \(co 2000-2018 the Hamlib Group (various contributors)
.br
Copyright \(co 2011-2019 Nate Bargmann
.
.PP
This is free software; see the file COPYING for copying conditions.  There is
NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
.
.
.SH SEE ALSO
.
.BR kill (1),
.BR ampctl (1),
.BR ssh (1),
.BR hamlib (7)
.
.
.SH COLOPHON
.
Links to the Hamlib Wiki, Git repository, release archives, and daily snapshot
archives:
.IP
.UR http://www.hamlib.org
hamlib.org
.UE .
